Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, salmonberries, huckleberries and black currants, the “it” berry that spice and seasonings company, McCormick, crowned the 2026 “Flavor of the Year.” If any of these are on your ‘yum’ list, then visiting Bellevue and nearby communities during the summer will be rewarding because that’s peak berry season in the Pacific Northwest.  

And you don’t even need to go beyond Bellevue’s borders to experience a bounty of berries in many forms.  

Summer of Berries in Bellevue, Washington

Berry Week, the first of Bellevue’s four signature culinary weeks (the others celebrate crab, dumplings and noodles), runs from July 18 to 26 this year and offers many ways to celebrate peak berry season and the area’s deep-rooted berry farming heritage.  

Cake Picnic Bellevue

The festivities kick off on July 18 in Bellevue Downtown Park with a special edition of the wildly popular touring phenomenon known as Cake Picnic.  

The event celebrates cakes in all forms, from upside down and multi-layered to decadently sweet and surprisingly savory and, of course, draped with fresh berries.  

Here is how it works: Each ticket holder brings a cake (homemade or bought from a local bakery). Entry includes a chance to sample cakes brought by others. Then, after mingling and enjoying the sugar high, Cake Picnic participants may pack up a box of cake slices to eat later.  

Does this sound like your kind of picnic? Tickets are sure to sell quickly! Find more details on Cake Picnic's event page. 

Bellevue Berry Week 

Beyond the Cake Picnic and throughout Berry Week, Bellevue’s award-winning chefs, bartenders and bakers will be busy creating limited-time specials to highlight the freshest local berries. Be sure to check menus, blackboards and table tents for everything for berry-forward salads, entrees, cocktails and desserts. And look for decadent berry creations in the fresh cases at local bakeries and cafés.  

Offerings may change to take advantage of the day’s ripest berries, but here is a sample of what a few local restaurants have planned.  

At John Howie Steak, the Berry Week special will be Strawberry Sponge Cake topped with whipped cream featuring Solgud, an orange liqueur made at Chef John Howie’s local distillery, Wildwood Spirits Co.  

Seastar Resturant and Raw Bar is planning a a Strawberry Panna Cotta made with basic green tea syrup, fresh strawberries and basil as well as a Summer Berry Shortcake that includes House baked sponge cake, fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and vanilla whipped cream.  

And Duke’s Seafood Bellevue will offer a Summer Strawberry Shortcake made with Lemon pound cake topped with Lopez Island strawberry ice cream and covered with Freshly sliced strawberries, white chocolate sauce and whipped cream. 

More ways to celebrate peak berry season around Bellevue  

Bellevue’s berry heyday stretched from the 1920s to the 1970s, when local farmers cultivated hundreds of acres of strawberry and blueberry farms. Today, two of the area’s oldest and most iconic blueberry farms are held by Bellevue Parks and Community Services as operating examples of the city’s agricultural legacy.  

Visitors can stop by the 19-acre Mercer Slough Blueberry Farm (2220 Bellevue Way SE, near the South Bellevue Park and Ride) or the Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm (700 148th Avenue SE,) for pesticide-free U Pick berry picking as well as farm stands filled with in-season strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and other produce, as well as cut flowers.  

The Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm is in Bellevue’s Lake Hills Greenbelt and offers trails and a fishing dock in addition to the u-pick berry experience. Check the Bellevue Blueberry Farms website for seasonal schedules, hours and u-pick pick prices before you go.  

Tips for Berry Picking at Bellevue’s Berry Farms  

• Blueberry picking season usually runs from early July through late August or early September, depending on weather and climate conditions.  
• Bellevue’s two blueberry farms are pet-friendly (pets must be on leashes) and chemical-free.  
• Buckets are provided for picking, but you may also bring your own containers.  
• Shade is at a premium at both farms and there may be wasp or hornet nests present. Be sure to bring a water bottle, sunscreen, Benadryl or cream (in case of stings) and dress in comfortable clothes and shoes.  
• Try to go early in the day to get the ripest berries and avoid the heat.  

Hikes in and around Bellevue where you might find wild berries  

In addition to u-pick berry farms, you might find wild blueberries and other berries while hiking on trails in and around Bellevue.  

Christine Faine, Public Information Officer at Bellevue’s Parks and Community Services, says there are many trails in Bellevue’s Lake Hills Greenbelt (home to the Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm) where blueberry shrubs grow right along the walking paths. And there are also likely to be wild berry plants along the wetland trails in the Mercer Slough Nature Park.  

In 120-acre Wilburton Hill Park, home to the Bellevue Botanical Garden, Faine suggests looking for seasonal berries along the trail loops. 

And in Bellevue’s 93-acre Weowna Park, just off Lake Sammamish Parkway, it is possible to find native berries, such as salmonberries, huckleberries and other berries along hiking trails that run through old growth forest land.